


Let’s dance

by Mang0es



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Demigods (Percy Jackson), Awkwardness, Dancing, First Kiss, First Meetings, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Insecure and socially awkward Nico, M/M, Masquerade, Will Solace is a Dork, but like blink and you’ll miss, my unhealthy love for bagels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mang0es/pseuds/Mang0es
Summary: Nico didn’t actually mind parties. Occasionally he would go to ones with Percy and the rest of the seven and even have some fun; but the problem with this party was that it was a masquerade. Which meant fancy clothes, stupid masks and rich people food.Okay maybe the food wasn’t a downside but still Nico did not want to go.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	Let’s dance

First off Nico didn’t want to go.

He would have much rather stayed at home with his cat and tv to keep him company. But no, not when his annoying friends decided to drag him off to a party saying that “he should have some fun while he’s still young”. He tried to argue that in spirit he was an eighty year old, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

And truth be told, Nico didn’t actually mind parties. Occasionally he would go to ones with Percy and the rest of the seven and even have some fun; but the problem with this party was that it was a masquerade. Which meant fancy clothes, stupid masks and rich people food.

Okay maybe the food wasn’t a downside but still Nico did not want to go.

And yet he found himself standing in his bathroom, carefully placing his mask on his face and sighing at his reflection. The mask was silver and only went across his eyes with delicate detailing around the edge, he wore a gray waistcoat over a black dress shirt and skinny jeans. Nico had to admit that he didn’t look bad (maybe even hot?) but it took way too much effort for a Friday night to put this outfit together, further cementing his reluctance to not go.

Nico was past the point of arguing though, he’d probably lose considering that his opposition had a law major on their side (curse you Piper), instead he just got into the cramped car and sulked until they reached their destination. They all pulled up to a grand mansion with sandstone walls and a garden surrounding the structure; plenty of people were outside queuing in lines to get inside, multicoloured lights were flashing out from windows and the music hit them as soon as they stepped out.

“Bro how did you even find this place?” Percy nudged Jason as he gaped at the house. Everyone was staring in collective shock at Jason who invited everyone to this party, Nico himself was determining whether or not the blonde sold his soul to some ancient deity for these invites. Jason walked out of the car fixing his mask, with Piper in hand and smiled at them all.

“It pays to have connections I guess.” The two resident idiots proceeded to do their weird “bro-five”, which was way too extra in Nico’s opinion. Leo was shouting at Jason about him being a “secret rich bitch” as Frank watched on from the side while the girls complimented each other’s outfits. Maybe the night wouldn’t turn out so bad after all, Nico thought to himself as the group set off towards the mansion.

Maybe Nico would actually enjoy this party.

* * *

So far Nico was right about two things.

The first was that the food was amazing, like who would’ve thought to make bagels tiny. Genius.

The second was that besides the food, he wasn’t really having a fun time. All his friends were out socialising, dancing and meeting new people while Nico stood near the snack table devouring the tiny bagels. His mask limited his vision a little bit, he was getting stuffy in his dress shirt and the flashing lights were starting to irritate him ever so slightly. It was uncomfortable and hot and Nico just wanted to go home already. But alas his friends were his ride home and they weren’t stopping anytime soon.

So with great annoyance Nico took his place by the snack table, eating food he would probably never have in his life again, and wishing he could just leave. Maybe it was just meant to be, Nico being by himself at this massive party, he’s never been good at making friends anyways. Not to say he hasn’t tried; it’s just he’s always been on the outside. He’s never really had anybody care about him, he has friends sure but where were they now?

Did they find him annoying and depressing like he found himself?

Why does this always happen to him?

Nico just wishes he could be just a bit more open with people. Then maybe he wouldn’t be so clingy and such a pity case.

Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

“Um excuse me?” A voice snapped Nico out of his self-pity spiral. He raised his head and met with a pair of sky blue eyes, tanned skin and curly blond hair that sprung out behind a Batman mask. Which Nico couldn’t decide if it was the most creative thing he'd seen that night or the stupidest. The guy wore a white button up with navy blue jeans, which looked completely out of place when paired with the mask.

“But where can I grab one of those?” The mystery guy pointed to the mountain of tiny bagels on Nico’s plate. “I had one of those earlier and they’re so good I just had to get some more,” he chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, “you know what I mean?”

Nico one hundred percent understood what this guy was talking about, but he couldn’t say it. Not when this guy’s smile was the most dazzling thing he’s seen all night, and he walked past a girl completely covered in glitter. Mystery guy just kept on looking at him with his pretty eyes and that sort of dorky look that comes with wearing a Batman mask. He tried to form a response but he just couldn’t; it was the universe thought it would be funny to watch Nico struggle at basic human interaction. His eyes were fixed to his plate, he could feel himself getting redder by the minute. He needed to say something, anything to break the silence between them.

“Uh yeah the bagels”, Nico lightly shook the plate in his hand, “they’re great.” He truly was a poet with his words. “I-I think I took the last ones though so… sorry” He looked up again and those blue eyes were filled with amusement.

“That’s okay dude my love for bagels has clearly been outclassed here.” Mystery guy made a vague gesture to the mini mountain on his plate.

Nico then stiffly stuck out his plate to the mystery guy. “Would you like to take one, um…?” he offered to the guy but hesitated on what to call him (he’d rather die than call him “mystery guy” to his face).

“Will!” The other spluttered out, “my name’s Will.” He coughed into his hand as a red seemed to seep out from under the mask.

“I’m Nico”

“Cool”

Another silence passed between the two as Nico passed Will the bagel. Neither of them were looking directly at each other, always focusing on some point just shy of the other. Neither of them moved apart from each other either; a couple of times Nico thought that Will would say something but nothing came out. They just stood there together in silence by the snack table (like a pair of weirdos).

 _This has to stop_ , Nico thought to himself, _if I want this conversation to be saved I have to say something— what would Piper do?_ Piper was always the one Nico went to for social advice. He remembers that she said something about making small talk, something about talking about interests and finding a mutual one.

Okay Nico could do that.

“So do you go to parties often?” Will sent him a sideways smile.

“Yeah some,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “but not ones this fancy. I’m a bit out of my element with this one.” He smiled at Nico but he saw the nervous uncertainty in Will’s eyes. It was something Nico could very much relate to. It was what he felt every time he was forced into a situation he wasn’t comfortable in.

“Well you could’ve fooled me” Nico saw Will’s posture visibly relax “if anything I think people would stare at you because of the Batman mask.” Will broke out into a fit of giggles at that, he was really beautiful when he laughed. Blonde locks would bounce as his head shook and his smile widened even more, eyes crinkling with laughter lines. The deep bellied laugh that came straight from the heart and sounded so joyous. It left Nico mesmerised.

“Yeah I didn’t have much time to prepare so I just put on something I wore last Halloween.” Will grinned at him which made his heart go _thwunk_. “Well what about you Hot Topic?” The blonde looked out into the throng of people. “Big on parties yourself?”

Nico raised an eyebrow at the nickname but said nothing of it. “Well not really, my friends forced me to come to this one. They think I spend too much time with my cat instead of people.” He took another bite of his bagel and surveyed the room. “Plus parties have most things I hate: drunk people, flashing lights, fights, dancing—“

“Wait wait wait, hold up— you don’t like dancing?” Will was giving him the most incredulous look as if Nico just said he kicks puppies for fun. “How can you not like dancing!?” He cried at him.

“Well I don’t know, maybe I have some unfortunate trauma when it comes to dancing. Did you ever think about that?” That was a blatant lie and they both knew it. The real reason Nico didn’t like dancing was because it just felt too awkward for him. He never knew how to move his body and he could never “feel the rhythm of the music”. Bianca used to tease him that he was like a dying fish on the dance floor, but then he’d point out that she was no better.

“I mean can you at least give it a try?” Will pleaded, bringing his hands together and giving him puppy-dog eyes under that stupid Batman mask. It was almost enough for Nico to break.

Almost.

“No” He bluntly stated as he ate another tiny bagel. Nico snickered as Will crossed his arms, giving him an unimpressed look. Mimicking Will’s stance, Nico put down his plate and looked the blonde dead in the eye, “and there’s no way hell you can get me onto that dance floor.” He set an unspoken challenge towards Will, one that the latter met with a mischievous glint.

Will held up his hands and shifted back onto his left heel. “Alright, whatever you say Nico” he shot him a sickly sweet smile. Nico kept a suspicious eye on Will for a minute before turning his head and reaching his hand out to grab his plate. Then he felt a pair of hands grab and tug him towards the dance floor. “But unluckily for you, I won’t take no for an answer!” Will laughed as he dragged Nico into the crowd.

It was hot and humid with sweat. People were jumping up and down and moving like crazy around him (Nico’s pretty sure he got jabbed a couple of times by random elbows). The increasing thunderous pound of music surrounded him on all sides and the lights kept changing from purple, to green, to blue and to pink. But Nico couldn’t bring himself to care about any of that. Not when Will was leading him towards the centre with the biggest smile, and the way he held onto Nico’s tightly just to make sure they weren't separated. He felt himself smile at Will, he can’t believe he let this dork with a Batman mask drag him up to dance. A dork who he managed to talk to without completely stuffing up. A dork with the prettiest smile and the most beautiful blue eyes ever and the cutest laugh.

Nico couldn’t believe he was falling for a dork wearing a Batman mask.

When Will finally stopped dragging Nico, the blonde kept a hold his hand around he turned towards him with a smug look on his face. “See I knew I could get you on the dance floor” Will smirked at Nico, he was way too pleased with himself in Nico’s opinion.

“Yeah now what genius?” Nico snarked at Will, “I’m still not going to dance.” At that the blonde grabbed onto Nico’s other hand and gave them both a tight squeeze.

“Just copy what I do okay?” The uneasy feeling started to return to Nico, but he pushed it down and nodded at Will (God those blue eyes could be so reassuring). The new song started up and Will began to twist them with the beat of the song.

Nico felt his nerves spike as his body unwillingly twisted along; his eyes went to the floor, keeping a careful track to where he placed his feet. _Oh God what if he made a fool of himself? What if he accidentally stood on Will’s feet and he hated him forever?_ When he finally looked up at Will what he saw made his heart stutter and heat rise to his cheeks.

Will was having the time of his life. Laughing as he swung them around in a circle, smiling his pretty smile, eyes were full of mirth and joy as he sang along to the song. _“ I was wondering if you and me could spend a minute,”_ the dork winked at Nico, which totally didn’t make his blush worse. _“ On the floor up and close getting lost in it. I won't give up without a fight ”_ Nico felt Will’s contagious smile catch spread across his face.

“You’re a dork, you know that?”

“Shush let me serenade with Olly Murs.” Nico rolled his as Will spun them around again, sticking his tongue out at Nico.

 _“ I just want you to dance with me tonight. So come on,”_ Nico laughed when Will tried to hit that first high note and failed miserably. It caused the blonde to break it off early and laugh at himself, Nico could just make out his red flush (he decided there and then Will looked cute when he blushed). “Okay so maybe signing isn’t my strong suit,” Will added on sheepishly, he looked at Nico with a warm smile. “But hey at least you seem to be enjoying yourself now; you look a lot less stressed.”

Now that Nico actually thought about it, Will did manage to distract him from trying to dance. His stupid singing and joyousness made everything around Nico calmer. He felt more relaxed like a weight had been lifted off him.

He returned Will’s smile with his own and squeezed their hands together. “Come on sunshine,” the blonde let out a surprised gasp as Nico pulled him around in a swift swing, “let’s dance.”

Time seemed to melt away as the two danced on; laughs were shared and chatter came naturally between the pair. Nico let the rhythm and pace Will set guide them as he stared into a pair of bright blue eyes. Their bodies were so close together, _God it would be so easy to kiss him right now Nico thought to himself. A familiar feeling of shame and despair crept around the corners of his mind. Would this be the right call? What if he didn’t swing that way?_ Images of Will’s smile, his stupid laugh and adorable blush flashed in Nico’s mind and pushed back his doubt. _Screw it, I’ve let myself do something stupid things tonight, what’s one more?_

Will’s eyes widened as Nico moved his face closer but he didn’t move back. Instead the blonde gulped as a dusting of red appeared on his cheeks. Nico drew in a short breath then let his gaze drop down to Will’s lips and back up again to his eyes.

“Can I kiss you?”

The world around him stood still, unmoving, Nico really thought he messed this up. Then Nico felt Will’s hand push his mask up to his hairline. Will then did the same to his own, revealing to a very surprised Nico that he had millions of freckles dotted along his tan face (God he was even more beautiful now). He felt that same hand return to the side of his face, gently directing Nico’s vision to Will’s eyes.

“Yes please” Will breathed out. Nico smiled, sliding a hand around his neck, he leant forward and kissed him. A warm giddy feeling filled up his entire body, he felt Will lean forward onto Nico for more causing him to chuckle. His fingers made nonsensical shapes on the nape of Will’s neck making the blonde hum in contentedness. Pulling back, Nico gazed into half-lidded blue eyes.

“Hmm maybe dancing isn’t the worst thing in the world.” Blonde curls bounced as Will let out a small laugh, his fingers carding through the hair on the back of Nico’s head.

“Yeah well I told you to give it a try,” Will started to slowly sway them around in a circle.

“And I did” Nico rose on his feet, leaning in closer to whisper into Will’s ear. “But I think I like kissing you more,” he kissed Will’s cheek as he fell back on his heels. The blonde was extremely red but he only raised an eyebrow.

“You think huh? Well maybe we should do another test, you know just to get the most reliable data.” Will seemed far too pleased with himself for that one.

“Did you just try to sweet talk me with science?”

“I am a man of science after all”

“You’re a dork, that’s what you are.”

Will gave Nico a soft smile, “only for you Nico” and leant in for that other kiss.

And for that Nico is glad he came to this party.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all I’ve risen from my hole to gift to you my solangelo dance fic
> 
> I’d like to dedicate this fic to my year five self who fell head over heels into this fandom and my darling friend Lex who I met one faithful day because of PJO and helped me brainstorm this idea
> 
> Btw the song they dance to is called Dance With Me Tonight by Olly Murs
> 
> As always comments and kudos are appreciated💖


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